Citation Nr: 21040711 Decision Date: 07/06/21 Archive Date: 07/06/21 DOCKET NO. 18-09 963 DATE: July 6, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of March 4, 1996, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's original claim for entitlement to service connection for PTSD was received in March 1996. The claim was denied in March 1997 because there was no evidence corroborating his claimed in-service stressors. Additional relevant service department records that were in existence at the time of the March 1997 rating decision have been received. Those records corroborate the Veteran's in-service stressors. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date of March 4, 1996, but no earlier, for the grant of service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156 (c), 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1971 to June 1973. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The matter was denied by the Board in a May 2019 decision, which the Veteran subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) the May 2019 decision was vacated and the matter was remanded for additional development in a September 2020 Board decision. The matter has now returned for further appellate review. 1. Entitlement to an effective date of March 4, 1996, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Generally, the effective date for an award of service connection and disability compensation is the day following separation from active service or the date entitlement arose if the claim is received within one year after separation from service; otherwise, for an award based on an original claim, a claim reopened after a final allowance, or a claim for an increase, the effective date will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. However, newly discovered service records can serve as a basis for providing an earlier effective date under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c). That is, 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c)(1) provides that, at any time after VA issues a decision on a claim, if VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of the same section (which defines new and material evidence). In this way, when 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c) is invoked, "the original claim is not just re-opened, it is reconsidered and serves as the date of the claim and the earliest date for which benefits may be granted." Vigil v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 63, 66-67 (2008). See also Mayhue v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 273, 279 (2011). Recently, in Emerson v. McDonald, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), further clarified that VA must reconsider a claim when relevant service records are received any time after the original denial. Emerson v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 200, 221 (2016). In Emerson, PTSD was originally denied because of the lack of a verified stressor and was later granted based on a change to the requirements regarding the verification of in-service stressors, as codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 (f)(3). After the decision granting service connection, the appellant submitted newly discovered service records that were relevant to his claim and argued that he was entitled to an effective date relating back to his original claim. The Court found that the plain language of § 3.156(c)(1) required VA to reconsider the appellant's original claim for PTSD even though it had been later granted. See, id. Similar to the Emerson case, the Veteran initiated his claim for service connection for PTSD in a March 4, 1996,correspondence. The RO denied the Veteran's initial claim in a March 1997 rating decision. The Veteran did not appeal that decision or submit any new and material evidence within one year of the March 1997 rating decision, and it became final. In September 1999, the Veteran submitted a request to reopen the issue of service connection for PTSD and the matter was subsequently granted in an October 2014 rating decision based on service records received in July 2013, which confirmed the Veteran's alleged stressors. Although the October 2014 rating decision granted service connection with an effective date of September 17, 1999, VA is still obligated to reconsider the original claim when relevant service records are received. In this case, the Veteran has submitted service records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim in March 1997. (Continued on next page) Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c)(3), an award made based all or in part on additional service department records is effective on the date entitlement arose or the date VA received the previously decided claim, whichever is later, or such other date as may be authorized by the provisions of this part applicable to the previously decided claim. In this case, the evidence indicates that the Veteran met the criteria for service connection for PTSD since March 4, 1996 (the date the first decided claim was received). Therefore, the Board finds that an effective date of March 4, 1996, is warranted for the grant of service connection for PTSD. T. REYNOLDS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Gorum, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.